One good thing from the floods is that it filled up a small lake. So there has been plenty of skiing and fun for all. But everyday it gets lower and saltier again. This is another spot we found for the kids. An old gravel pit that had filled up with water. Kept the kids very busy on the hot days.

Yep, right in the middle of harvest we had floods. Above, this looking up towards town. You can see my dad’s two trucks parked up on the left. We were having our main road redone by the shire and they were only days away from putting down the bitumen, then along came the rain and washed it all away. Below is my Uncle Mocka’s farm. We were heading towards the middle of his paddock where his gully was running, full of floodwater. This was as close as we could get! Not good for the farmers who still had harvesting to do. It took weeks before they could even drive on their paddocks.

Just before school went back we managed to spend a week down on the coast at Hopetoun where we have a permanent van. Here is my Dad and brother Chad trying to catch some fish while we went swimming. My brother and his wife had come over from Albury for Christmas. My brother is in the army so I don’t get to see much of them, especially my two gorgeous nephews Trent and Jackson. So it was nice to spend some quality time together and for the cousins to get to know each other again.

This is the small town of Pingaring. The People. The Place. Or so it says on our community number plates! There are five houses in our town, plus a shop and the local hall. We also have a golf course around a large granite rock behind the town, as well as the tennis/cricket club and the old school which is now used as a community centre/playgroup. We live directly opposite the railway line, which is great when trains go past at all times of the night, and the CBH bins. Co-operative Bulk Handling Group is who my husband works for. He runs the Pingaring bin at harvest when they take in all the farmers’ grain. We only take wheat and barley in Pingaring. I write about the bins in my book The Family Farm so this picture will help those of you who’ve never seen them understand.